Fall Thoughts....sort of

Man the chilly weather hit us in a big way this week here in St. Louis. Waking up with temps in the high 40s and low 50s makes this loather(word?) of the cold nervous. But I realize the seasons do have their place. Fall is actually a nice time of year, so I am definitely looking forward to it.

Couple thoughts before I head off to lunch and then class: In the past year we have seen some pretty dynamite things. For one, it was one year ago tomorrow when Phish announced via their website they would be coming back. Okay, I may be the only one who actually cares about this, but it was important to me! But something else, more pertinent to everyone in general, we saw was the utter collapse of the American economy and the United States Dollar.

Yesterday, the Mockingbird blog (which if you are not reading them stop reading me and go there), had an article on the collapse of the economy and human nature. What's funny is how closely related the two are. Now in an economics class and on CNN or FoxNews one would be howled at for getting theological on the present situation the US and the world finds itself in. But nevertheless the two are closely associated. Humans are completely greedy. Even socialists and communists are greedy, their greed just manifests in different ways.

Today we had a convocation on Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book Life Together. Although Bonhoeffer definitely alludes to the idea of Christian community being found in seminary, for that is what he was writing for, his overall idea and exploration of Christian Community can be translated to the local parish. We worship mostly in the mornings to start off the week on the Lord's Day, as the Apostles called it. But every morning belongs to the Lord. So every morning Bonhoeffer writes,

"For Christians the beginning of the day should not be burdened and oppressed with besetting concerns for the day's work. At the threshold of the new day stands the Lord who made it. All the darkness and distraction of the dreams of night retreat before the clear light of Jesus Christ and his wakening Word. All unrest, all impurity, all care and anxiety flee before him. Therefore, at the beginning of the day let all distraction and empty talk be silenced and let the first thought and the first word belong to him to whom our whole life belongs. 'Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light' (Ephesians 5:14)."

Life Together, 43

This is the importance of worship for the Christian. The classic argument is, "What I can't be a Christian on my own? I can believe what I want I don't have to go to church." No, I suppose you don't have to but isn't that just the attitude of the American? "I don't need anyone else, I just need myself."

Oh how wrong that is. We need others in this journey we call life. And we also need to hear the Word preach and receive the Sacraments. Because these are God's gifts to the church. So turn over a new leaf, even if it is a dead one since Fall is here, and join with Jesus and the church who by the power of Christ's own death and resurrection the fall has been kicked back and with the light of each new day is the light of Christ to be enjoyed in community with one another.